Distribution panel



Deco 24, 1935 v. DURBIN 2,25,23 3

DISTRIBUTION PANEL Filed Sept. 15, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet l Dace 24,. 1935. v. DURBIN DI STRIBUTION PANEL Filed Sept. 15, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 (5 VOLTS H0 VOLTS A.C.

H0 VOLTS D.C.

2 VOLTS 4- V0 LTS 4 ('3 VOLTS 6 U0 LTS 53%;, 24-, l fio v R N DISTRIBUTION PANEL Filed Sept. 15, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 wzazsa I 1 Mac, 24, 1935 v. DUREIN DISTRIBUTION PANEL Filed Sept. 15, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 M 3%] lifi Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFEQE DISTREU'EION PANEL Vernon Durbin, Newton, Mass, assignor to The Holtzer-Cabot Electric Company, Roxbury, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 15, 1933, Serial No. 689,588

15 Claims. (Cl. 171-97) The present invention relates to distribution panels.

In electrical laboratory work, it is frequently necessary to distribute to a number of students tables a plurality of selected electrical voltages of diiierent character, for example, alternating current, direct current, and a variable low voltage from a storage battery source. The selection of the desired source of voltage for each student has heretofore been accomplished by cord and plug connections which, besides being unsightly, are likely to lead to improper connections, such as short-circuits or cross-overs, on account or" the confusing arrangements of the leads.

The object of the present invention is to provide a distribution panel, whereby electrical energy of a selected character may be supplied to individual students, While at all times giving a definite indication of the type of energy supplied and preventing any erroneous connections between the different sources.

With this object in view, the present invention comprises the apparatus hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the preferred form of apparatus according to the present invention, a portion of the covered panel being broken away; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the panel; Fig. 3 is a wiring diagram; Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective detail views of a slider; Fig. 6 is an enlarged front elevation of a portion of the slider; Fig. 7 is a section on line 'l-l of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a perspective detail view of a spring contact member; Fig. 10 illustrates a modified form of the apparatus; Fig. 11 is an enlarged elevation of the jacks used in the panel illustrated in Fig. 10; and Fig. 12 is a wiring diagram of the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11.

The particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings comprises a laboratory panel for selectively controlling the supply to six students of volts A. C., 110 volts D. C., or any storage battery voltage from two to twenty-four volts.

The apparatus comprises a casing I0 enclosing a row of six double-pole double-throw switches ii for controlling the supply of alternating current to the individual students, a second row of double-pole double-throw switches M for controlling the supply of direct current, and a storage battery voltage selector indicated generally at IS. The switches and the selector are partially enclosed by a front panel I8. From the top of the casing, six conduits 28 lead to the individual benches. Fuses 22 are provided for the individual outlet lines. Referring to the wiring diagram of Fig. 3, the storage battery voltage selector It includes six pairs of vertical voltage selector bars 5 23, grouped in six pairs, designated 23 23 etc., the bars of each pair being marked minus and plus. There is one A. C. switch 52, one D. 0. switch it, and one pair of selector bars for each of the conduits '25. Means are provided for ener- 1O gizing any pair of selector bars with any desired storage battery voltage. This means will later be described in detail, but for the present, each pair of bars may be considered as a source of selected l). C. voltage. Taking the pair 23 for 15 example, they are connected by wires 2 with the lower set of fixed contacts of the first D. C. switch, designated Hi The blade contacts of the switch are connected by wires 26 with the lower contacts of the A. C. switch W The blade contacts of this switch are connected to wires 28 which lead into the first conduit 20, the fuse 22 being connected in one of the wires 28. Similar connections are provided for the other rows of selector bars and switches. A voltage supply of 110 volts A. C. is connected to the upper contacts of all the switches 12, as indicated by the heavy leads 3G and a voltage supply of 110 volts D. C. is connected to the upper contacts of all the switches M, as indicated by the leads 32. 30

It will be observed that with the A. C. switch closed on its upper contacts, as indicated for the switch i2 the output leads 28 are energized with alternating current, regardless of the setting 01 the D. C. switch [4 or of the voltage on the storage battery selector bars. Thus, closure of the A. C. switch cuts off all other sources of voltage. The second switch l2 is shown as closed on the lower contacts, thereby cutting oil the supply of alternating current from the students lines and throwing the control on the D. C. switch M This latter switch is shown as closed on the upper contacts, thereby energizing the students line from direct current leads 32 and cutting out the storage battery voltage on the selector bars 23 The remaining four switches of each row are shown closed on the lowermost contacts, thereby supplying a connection from the respective selector bars 23, 23 etc. to the students line. With both closed on their lowermost contacts, the 110 volt A. C. and D. C. supplies are isolated from the students line.

Referring now to the construction of the selector it, this comprises a series of seven horizontal buses 34 which are mounted at their ends on vertical insulating strips 36 mounted on spacers 38 attached to the rear wall of the casing. The buses are connected by individual wires "ill with separate cells of a 24 volt storage battery A2. The voltage connections are such that any desired voltage between two volts and twentyfour volts may be taken off" between two selected buses 34. The vertical supply bars 23 which form the selector bars of the several pairs are supported at their upper ends on a horizontal insulating strip 42 which extends across the rear wall of the casing, each bar extending slightly above the strip 42 to accommodate a wiring connection 43. At their bottom ends,,the bars 23 are mounted on a strip 4 1 which, ,as shown in Fig. 2, is somewhat narrower than the strip 42, the bars being held in proper position by means of individual spacers 46. Each strip 23 is covered with a facing strip 48 of insulating material.

In addition to the vertical bars 23 of the pairs above described, there is another pair marked CHG, to which is connected a charging line 58 through a'rheostat 52, for the purpose of'applying any selected charging voltage to the batteries.

An additional vertical bar 5d is provided at the left side to position a voltage selecting slider 56 presently to be described.

The sliders 56 are used for the purpose of electrically connecting any desired horizontal bus with any vertical bar. One pair of sliders is provided for each pair of vertical bars. Each slider comprises a twofpart element of insulating material, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The slider is provided at each side with a vertical slot 58 to slide over two adjacent bars 23, the slot being somewhat wider than the bars. The front face of the slider is provided with a convenient grip cc and the rear face has a central slot 62 to receive one of the horizontal buses 36. The rear face also has two positioning slots at to receive the buses'immediately above and below the one received in the central slot 62'. Each element is recessed, as indicated at 65, to receive a spring contact member 58, indicated in Fig. 9. This contact member has two opposed leaves it! having spring contact portions 'H received in the slot 62 and spread apart by spacers 12 integrally molded in the slider elements. The contact member has a third leaf 73 which is perpendicular to the leaves 78 and whichis formed with a bent spring contact it which protrudes through an opening 735 in the side of the right-hand element of the slider. The contact springs ll embrace a selected horizontal bus and the contact l4 engages the vertical bar 23 at the right-hand side of the slider.

In addition to the horizontal buses 34, there is provided at the bottom a dead bus 18, with which the slider contact may engage for zero voltage, and two positioningbars i9 at top and bottom for engaging in the slots 64 when the slider is in top or bottom position.

The sliders are arranged in pairs, the righthand or positive slider'being preferably colored red and'the left-hand or negative slider being colored black. The positive slider is provided on its left-hand side with a projection 35 and the negative slider is provided with a similar projection 82 on the righthand side, the purpose of these projections being to prevent movement of one slider past the other. As a result, the positive slider is always maintained above the negative slider, thereby providing assurance against reversal of polarity oi the leads. As shown 'in Fig. 6,

the projections are displaced slightly from the centers of the sliders so that the two selectors can, if desired, be set to engage the same horizontal bus.

Any slider may be adjusted by simply drawing it outwardly to disengage it from the horizontal buses, as shown for the right-hand slider of Fig. '7, then sliding it to its new position and pushing it inwardly for engagement with the selected bus. The slider and the insulating face strip d3 may be marked with any suitable indicia to indicate the potential for any position of the slider.

If the front closure panel 18 is removed, any slider may be easily taken out by sliding it below the lower ends of the vertical bars 23.

In the wiring diagram of Fig. 3, various connections of the contact members 68 with respect to the horizontal and vertical bars are indicated.

The voltage for charging may be electrically connected from any suitable source, such as a rectifier, to all or any group of cells of the battery. This is an important feature, since all the members of a class may work on the same experiment, with a consequent drain on a portion only of the battery, with the result that the used portion should be charged without passing charging current through the remainder of the battery. This is easily accomplished by setting the sliders on the charging section, and by adjusting the charging rate by the rheostat 52.

It will be seen that the Voltage controls associated with any pair of output leads are in effect connected in series and ,{so arranged that the closure of either switch on its appropriate voltage supply isolates all sources farther removed from the output leads. A positive indication of the character of the voltage supply to any student is directly indicated by the positions of the switches and sliders on the panel and the supply to any student may be quickly changed merely settin g the sliders to any desired position.

As an additional feature, the invention contemplates the use of a meter control panel as shown in Figs. 10, ll andlZ, whereby the current and voltage ,on either of the main lines or any of the students lines may be indicated. To this end, the meter control panel 8? is interposed between the row of switches l2 and the fuse box 22, as shown in Fig 10. This panel has a number of openings arranged in four horizontal rows and seven vertical columns. The extreme left-hand column is used for controlling the indication of voltages and currents on the A. C. and D. :0. lines and the remaining six columns are dispesed immediately above the six sets of control switches for the individual students lines. Adjacent to the rows of holes are an A. C. voltmeter, and a D. C. voltmeter, .andA. .C. ammeter and'a'D. C. ammeter indicated at 84, 36, B8 and 9,8 respectively.

The holes of th four rows are or" varying sizes, as indicated in exaggerated fashion at .si', 32 $3 and 94 in Fig. 101 A single set of four plugs is provided, each adapted to enter only the holes of its corresponding row. V Immediately in bacl; of each of the holes 95 of the uppermost row is a jack-switch as having a pair of fixed leaves 96 and a pair of movable leaves 93, the latter being adapted to be spread into contact with the leaves 96 by means of a plug l 953 having a short end portion i132 of such a sizeas to fit snugly within the opening. The movable leaves 98 are connected to opposite sides of the corresponding line, as indicated at its in Q; by throwing one or both of the switches and by i Fig. 12. Attached to all of the fixed leaves 96 of the row are a pair of common buses I06 which are electrically connected with the A. C. voltmeter '84, as shown in Fig. 12.

Immediately below each switch 95 is a D. C. voltmeter switch I08, identical in construction with the switch 95 except that it is spaced farther from the panel 8I. The hole 92 is larger than the hole 9!, and the plug H2 therefor has a portion II 6 of enlarged diameter which cannot enter any of the holes 92. Thus the plug I60 cannot be used to control the D. C. voltmeter switch nor can the plug II 2 be used to control the A. C. voltmeter switch. The contacts of the switch I08 are connected to the lines and to the D. C. voltmeter in the same fashion as the connections for the A. C. voltmeter above described.

Behind each of the holes 93 of the third row of the panel is an A. C. ammeter control switch H6 having a pair of movable contacts II8 normally shunted by means of a bridge contact I213. The leads 5 I8 are connected in the corresponding line, as indicated at I2I in Fig. 12, and are adapted to be spread by a plug I22 into contact with stationary leaves I23. The leaves I23 of all the switches of the row are connected by wires I25 with a transformer I25 connected to the A. C. meter 88. The openings 93 of the panel are of increased diameter and the switch Ht is disposed at a greater distance from the rear of the panel than either of the switches 95 or I98. The plug I22 cannnot be introduced into the holes of the upper rows.

Immediately behind the bottom row of holes 95, which are of the largest size, is a row of switches I23 which are identical with the switches IIS except that they are disposed still farther from the panel. The switches are operated by a plug I38 which is of maximum diameter and length. These switches are connected to the D. C. ammeter 95, the connections being identical with those for the A. C. ammeter, described above.

The four switches of the column at the lefthand end of the meter control panel are connected with the other switches of the corresponding rows, as shown in Fig. 12. For the A. C. voltmeter connection, wires I 34 lead from opposite sides of the line 39 to the movable contacts of the uppermost switch of the row. For the D. C. voltmeter connection, wires I35 lead from opposite sides of the direct current line 32 to the movable contacts of the second switch.

Wires I38 are cut into one side of the A. C. line 3%] and lead to the movable contacts of the A. C. ammeter control switch, and wires Mil cut into the D. C. line 32 lead to the movable contacts of the D. C. ammeter control switch at the bottom of the column.

The-switches may be supported on the panel by any suitable brackets, not shown.

It will be observed that each plug may be used to actuate a switch of its corresponding row only. Accordingly, since only one set of plugs is provided, it is impossible to close more than one switch in any row at any time. Accordingly, all possibility of short circuits or crossovers between circuits at different potentials is avoided. The arrangement affords a convenient means of determining the voltage or current on either of the main lines or on any of the individual students lines at the option of the instructor.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a distribution apparatus of particular form for a particular use, it

will be understood that the invention may be modified both as to construction and purpose within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Distribution control apparatus comprising a plurality of voltage sources of different character, output leads, series control devices for selectively connecting a selected source with the leads, and means operated by any control device, when connecting its source to the leads, for isolating from the leads all sources farther removed therefrom.

2. Distribution control apparatus comprising a pair of output leads, a plurality of double-throw switches having connected contacts, one of said switches being connected with the output leads, a source of voltage connected with each switch, and an additional source of voltage connected With contacts of the switch farthest removed from the output leads.

3. Distribution control apparatus comprising a pair of output leads, a plurality of double-pole double-throw switches, one of the switches having one pair of fixed contacts connected to the output leads, series connections between fixed contacts of all the switches, voltage sources connected to the blade contacts of the several switches, and an additional source connected to fixed contacts of the switch farthest removed from the leads.

4. A voltage selector comprising a plurality of buses adapted to be energized at difierent potentials, a transverse bar, and a slider on the bar having a contact to engage the bar and any selected bus.

5. A voltage selector comprising a plurality of buses adapted to be energized at different potentials, a pair of bars transverse to the buses, output leads for the bars, a slider for each bar, and a contact engaging with the bar and adapted to engage a selected bus.

6. A voltage selector comprising a plurality of buses adapted to be energized at different potentials, a pair of bars transverse to the buses, output leads for the bars, a slider for each bar, and a contact engaging with the bar and adapted to engage a selected bus, the sliders having cooperating means to prevent moving one slider past the other.

7. A voltage selector comprising a. plurality of buses adapted to be energized at difierent potentials, a pair of bars transverse to the buses, output leads for the bars, a slider movable between the bars having a slot to receive one of the buses and an opening in one side, and a spring contact member in the slider having a leaf extending through the opening to engage one of the bars and a leaf in the recess to engage a selected bus.

8. A voltage. selector comprising a plurality of buses adapted to be energized at diiferent potentials, a pair of bars transverse to the buses, output leads for the bars, a slider movable between the bars and having side slots to receive the bars and a rear recess to receive one of the buses,

the slider having an opening in one side, and a spring contact member having a pair of opposed leaves in the rear recess to embrace the bus and a side leaf extending through the side opening to contact with one of the bars.

9. A voltage selector comprising a plurality of buses adapted to be energized at different potentials, a plurality of individual pairs of feeder bars arranged transversely of the buses, and

any but buses edeitd to 51 ei en s lfierent ge battery potentials, a plurality of fee r trensvetse t9 the beset e llfifi iil eeqer b r to e ener ed 9? therein t e atte y! nd slid v e s or c nnect n ea h bee W 1 i; e t eleeted Y ev ltese se ecter c m isin a pl wity of us ada t d to be e e figize a d n store a a e y t nti ls, a lura ty o ediv in pairs of output feeder bars, a pair of char feeder bars, the feeder bars being transverse to the buse and a der for each be? t con e he e ith a p ed b s- ,l2- D stri nti n so ml appa tu comp n a p u alit f series tenn c d d011b er h ow switche e h v a Source f l age con-- ne ed he w th Output ine sonn e e t one 9 said sw ches s orag b r selecto he ing buses to be energized at ,difierent battery po= te t e and air of tran e se fe e a connec ed t t wit h c r es em v d rom he ou put t t e nd mean r c nn cting the f r t seed e l3: D stribut n @Qn ro! an ete us tome-ris a p a it of er e eonn tesi dpubleth w swi ch ea h avin a 1 4 6 of age mn k d h rewith output l ne c ne d to ne of said .s tqhe's to ag ba e selec or h ving buses to be energized at different battery poten a s a d a o t an ver e e e ba s eted t9 the sw t h farthest m ved iron; the out ut ne a Pa r f h rg ng ee b rs and. me ns or onn e ing the eeder to sel c ed buses.

sli ers the eeder or liL Y an Pifi fibyi 999 1 a aratus t m r sin e m sic lity 2 et tee e l teli Qt ows 9! 9191=E9 g sie hleth w wit nes t e s ite s of one row v n ts qo neeted t corresponding output lines and other fixed contacts connected with the fixed contacts of the corresponding switches of the next row, sources of voltageof difierent character connected to the blade contacts oi the switches of the separate rows, a battery selector having a plurality of buses to be energized at different potentials, a plurelit o t ent e se eeders wen d Pa s eaeh pair being cem nted to the fixed co of he cor es ondi g witch art es r mo item the utput line, and mean for ele t ca l nnes: .15 e ieede to e select d b s,

5: Diwitn nn t re! ap at tns om ri i 2% totality oi utput lin s lu al 91 ro s .01

h' tnrow swi ches the sw t h 2 tc. fin d cqnt et connec e to eotrespend n out ut lines and ot e co acts connected the fixed ontacts of t e nort soondin switch s of th next w, s r e of yolta e of d fie ent cha a co ne ted to h 5 bla e contacts of the swit hes of the s pa at rows a bat ry select r h in a pl y of buses to be energized at different potentials, a. plurality of transverse feeders arranged in pairs, each pair bein connected to the fixed contacts of the corresponding switch farthest removed from the output line, a pair of charging feeders, and means for electrically connecting any feeder to a selected bus.

VERNON DURBIN. 

